Resigned: Former Cavan ladies manager Conor Barry.

'I did this for the players'

Paul Fitzpatrick

Cavan ladies' preparations for the first round of the National League have been thrown into crisis after team manager Conor Barry resigned his position.

The Arva native, who had been in the position since October 2015, has slammed the ladies county board for what he feels is a failure to act on player welfare issues as well as fixtures, fundraising and promotion and he says the board are holding the team back.

“The reason I did this is for the players. There’s no point in me resigning and them appointing somebody new and moving on nice and neatly. Things have to change – simple as,” the Dublin-based schoolteacher told The Anglo-Celt.

“Player welfare is number one. We have players who are injured and the county board took a vote at a meeting and said they would not pay for their medical treatment, scans etc. They don’t believe that the players were injured playing or training for Cavan.

“One of those players cannot afford the scans so if they’re not covered, they’re not going to get them – and in that particular case it’s a spinal injury.”

Barry says that a request for wet gear for players was turned down and that when he asked whether the squad could fundraise themselves to pay for it, it was dismissed.

“I asked would it be okay if the players were to fundraise for that and the comment that was made in the room on the night was ‘it’s not a fashion show we’re running here’,” said Barry.

A request that the players be provided with food after training also fell on deaf ears, he said, as did a suggestion that the players be given fuel vouchers to offset their travelling costs.

“I asked for a basic requirement, food after training. For the last two years I’ve done the team shop for training in Lidl. I asked for food after training, not all training sessions, some sessions, particularly the nights when the Dublin-based players come down.

“I asked for that last October and that hasn’t been provided even one night since they came back training.

“I asked for sponsorship for fuel vouchers for the players, again this was not done. It would have been a token, that the players wouldn’t be out of pocket.

“The girls have to buy all their own gear, even the tracksuits that they wear, they pay for themselves. The senior players have actually raised more money in my time with the county then the county executive have raised themselves.”

Barry claimed that he was given the green light to approach two minor players to join the panel before being instructed to remove them, which prompted his resignation.

“Last Wednesday night the county executive met and I was told after that meeting that I was to tell those two players that they had to leave the panel.

“I resigned before having to do that. I said I would not do it.

“There is no rule on players not playing senior football if they’re minor but I was told that there’s a bye-law in Cavan which prevents this.”

He now understands that the bye-law was never registered with Croke Park.
Barry emailed a written letter of resignation to secretary Michael Gilmartin last Friday afternoon. He subsequently withdrew this on Sunday but says he was informed that the board had accepted his resignation and moved on.

Barry also highlighted the lack of either PR or fundraising committees. He devoted considerable time and energy to promoting the team and their brand on social media and traditional media, he said, to the point where he was “actually the one doing up match graphics for social media and match programmes that people had on the day. That’s the level of effort that I have put into this project.”

At present, the ladies board do not have a PRO.

On the issue of fixtures, he hit out at the board’s decision to play three county finals six days before the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Cork last August.

“I genuinely believe that the team is being held back by the executive. Last year we played Cork in an All-Ireland quarter-final and six days ahead of that game they played three county finals - and two shield games on the Friday night before that.

“In the build-up to the Cork game, our attendances didn’t cross 13 players at training because I released all those players back to their clubs. I asked that the county board would move the games but they didn’t.

“They should have gone to the men’s board with other dates and they would have looked into whether Kingspan Breffni Park was available because there were free dates in the calendar.

“After the Ulster final, they played off the entire group stages of the championship in 11 days. For two years I have complained about fixtures. We’re still playing league games in November and there’s only five or six teams in every league. Do they not see anything wrong with this, playing your championship group stages inside 11 days three days after losing an Ulster final?”

Barry was also frustrated that the board did not take action in relation to a National League game against Clare on Sunday, February 5, which is due to directly clash with the men’s high profile fixture against Dublin.

Barry claims to have emailed the board on November 20 to highlight the clash and request a double-header or an earlier throw-in. No action has been taken, he said.

“It now looks like that Clare game will go ahead at the same time as the men’s game and they most likely will not be allowed to use the 3G due to the numbers that will be attending the men’s game.

“When I came in two years ago, I met with the chairperson, Carol Kiernan, and I asked the question as to what the average attendance was and they said to me that in the previous year they played a game in which they had to go to the car for money to pay for the referee because the gate receipts didn’t cover him and I stated there and then that that was going to change and that I would be fundamentally behind everything in relation to PR and social media and increasing the profile of Cavan ladies.

“In our first game against Clare at the start of 2015 we raised over €1,000 on the gate. In five home games, all the gates to the best of my knowledge broke €1000. This Clare game will be a massive step backwards in my opinion for Cavan ladies.

“It’s in their own interests for them to promote the games. Before I came in, games were not a revenue maker; they now are.”

Barry said that he feels he has the support of the dressing-room and that he is disappointed and frustrated at how things have turned out.

“The amount of time and hours that I put into this, it wouldn’t pay me to do it but I do it because I absolutely love what I do.

“I stepped down because the ambition that the players and management have and the sacrifices that they’re making is not being matched around the board room in my view.

“Most of the players are stunned and very saddened that it has come to this. I didn’t want this but there’s only so long that you can fight this fight on behalf of the players.

“I did this for the players. Very much so because what I’ve seen over the last two years – and I know their frustration goes back to 2011 when they asked for a fundraising committee... Sponsorship, fundraising, player welfare, fixtures...
“All these issues are repeatedly coming up with both the players and management and they’re not being addressed.

“I understand that doing this two weeks ahead of the National League could potentially have disrupted the players but there just comes a point when you have to be taken seriously. For us to reach Division 1 football and to win an Ulster title, we’re going to have to be more serious about things.

“I have enjoyed the last two years immensely but it’s unfortunate that it ends like this. I had a lot more work and time and effort that I was willing to put into it.”

The ex-manager also stated that on the night before Cavan played Cork, the board issued club fixtures for the following weekend, which the players received in their team hotel.

“In other words, they didn’t seem to believe we were going to beat Cork,” he said.

Barry also stated that a member of the executive was overheard at a meeting saying “it’s lucky they didn’t get to Division 1 because we couldn’t have afforded to go to Cork or Kerry”.

 

 

 

CHAIRMAN REJECTS BARRY'S CLAIMS

The chairman of Cavan ladies board, Martin Brady, has rejected the criticisms levelled at the committee by the outgoing senior team manager.

“I can only speak for myself before tonight’s executive meeting. I have a lot of respect for Conor and I’m not getting into a slanging match with him,” Brady told The Anglo-Celt.

“I will say in the strongest terms that player welfare has never been an issue. I reject any accusation that we have not been looking after players. We have given the players everything they need within our budget, which is obviously limited.

“We have four county teams and two development squads to look after and 32 clubs after that. That’s the reality of it.

“In relation to the county finals fixtures, that date was set in stone for August 14 and the six clubs involved wanted those games to go ahead to give their players to chance to play on the biggest stage in the county.

“We have a National League match on Sunday week. We have to sit down and look for a new management team and then we need to decide where we go as regards the board, we’ll take what Conor has said and take it on board.

“I am not in a position to comment further on individual issues until after tonight’s meeting.”